Former Hurricanes stand by Cristobal’s vision at Legends Camp

Mario Cristobal handed off the microphone to start Legends Camp on Thursday and let the line of former Miami Hurricanes speak for itself. Andre Johnson introduced himself and his long list of accomplishments, and passed the mic off to Duke Johnson. He spoke for a few moments and then passed it to Gino Torretta, who did the same and handed it off to Brandon Merriweather. In all, 29 Miami alumni — all of whom have spent time in the NFL and most of whom played more than a handful of years at the highest level — took their turn to try to sell the program and its brotherhood. The alumni network still helps set the Hurricanes apart, even after all these years and a rare losing season last year. “Their presence here is a big part of why this program is what it is,” general manager Alonzo Highsmith said. “How many times are you ever going to see Andre Johnson or Jon Beason, Bryant McKinnie and all these guys who are some of the greatest college football players of all time?” Camps like these, where recruits get a chance to see Coral Gables and coaches get a chance to scout, are where the Hurricanes’ turnaround will have to begin and they make the perfect showcase for their coach. When he took over at the end of 2021, Cristobal sold a vision of a rebuild through recruiting and development. As a two-time national champion at Miami, Cristobal knew what a championship program looked like and what the Hurricanes needed to do to get back there. The first season didn’t go according to plan, but confidence among the alumni hasn’t wavered. “When you go recruit for a school and you’re the coach of school you have to sell that school,” said Torretta, who won the Heisman in 1992. “What better guy than someone who lived it and breathed it and grew up on it?” Said Highsmith: “Any time you put a group of people together at this magnitude together, it’s a learning experience. It takes a while to build a staff. It takes consistency, familiarity with all the people and that’s what we didn’t have last year, and it was a tough year last year, but I think we’ll all be better for it. I think we all understand the task at hand.” For the last few months, Cristobal has not minced words about what went wrong in 2022. The roster, he said, is not as talented as it needs to be. He promises to get it there. The Class of 2023 was a good starting point. Miami finished the 2023 recruiting cycle with the No. 8 class in the country, according to 247Sports, and now has an offensive line loaded with former five-star recruits and potential NFL Draft prospects. So far, the Class of 2024 is a work in progress — with only 12 players committed and three blue-chip recruits in the fold — and sits at No. 26 in the nation, but the Hurricanes had about 350 campers work out Thursday and has 20 official visitors set to be in South Florida this weekend. After hosting about 30 four- and five-star prospects throughout for official visits throughout June, Miami expects July to be a busy month, in terms of commitments. “No matter what you may think of all the bells and whistles, the most important part of football is player acquisition. We have to bring in better players,” Highsmith said. “In order for Miami to be have an opportunity to play for a college national championship, we’re going to have to have better players and that’s the goal of our team. That’s the goal of every team in the nation.” After a relatively slow start to the 2024 recruiting cycle, the Hurricanes tripled their number of blue-chip commitments in the last week, landing a pledge from four-star tight end Elija Lofton last Thursday and plucking elite running back Kevin Riley out of Tuscaloosa County in Northport, Alabama, on Monday. Miami beat out Texas, Washington and Arizona State for Lofton, who plays at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, and Georgia, Auburn and the Crimson Tide for Riley. “You see the caliber of players when we’re beating out schools like the Georgias and the Alabamas, and the Ohio States and the Michigans of the world,” Torretta said. “Those are the guys that they want. They’re in the top echelon of college football right now and that’s what we’re going for.” Adding talent is important, but so is changing the culture and they tend to go hand in hand. In his 18 or so months at the helm, Cristobal has often recruited starting-caliber transfers at positions with returning starters, trying to foster a spirit of competition. It has former Pro Bowl tackle Bryant McKinnie thinking back orientation when he first got to school, and heard running back Clinton Portis and safety Phillip Buchanon, both of whom went on to become All-Americans, talking about their plans. “Clinton and Phillip were already like discussing how we’re only going to be here for three years. That was their mindset, like, I’m coming in, I’m taking somebody’s job, I’m getting out,” said McKinnie, who played for Cristobal when the coach was still a graduate assistant. “It’s a mindset, too. You can have a lot of talent, but you have to get guys who don’t mind coming here and working, and coming in and trying to take people’s position.”